The Christ Child

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. Luke 2:1, 4-5

In lo the many years I have been writing “Israel Watch,” I sometimes opt to write a more reflective piece at the Christmas season.

Like this season.

As I write this I am listening to traditional Christmas music, thinking about readers and family and friends. Many of your write to me through the year. It really is a family.

So let me meander through my mind and heart and enjoy this wonderful time with you.

(I grew up in the era when Andy Williams’ Christmas special was on TV; I am right now listening to him sing “Away in a Manger.” Oh the memories!)

I remember the first time I walked into Manger Square, in Bethlehem. The trip from Jerusalem was a journey back in time. Actual sheepherders lined the roads. The Judean Hills were dotted with animals like those that saw the Christ Child 2,000 years ago:

The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s crib (Isaiah 1:3)

I have to tell you, being there in a now-Palestinian controlled town, dotted with posters of Yasser Arafat, I thought of things near and far: this was the place King David ruled from the first seven years of his Kingdom. Bethlehem has a strong Jewish history, and the marvelous prophecy given in Micah rings through the centuries:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.

Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.

And he shall be their peace. (Micah 5:2-5)

The “near thing” I thought of in Manger Square is the fact that amid all the chaos and evil in our world today, the Creator, who sent His Perfect Son to take our punishment, is preparing a wonderful world for all those who know Jesus.

This includes Palestinians. A paradise is coming, a new world where pain will not even be remembered.

Too many at this time of year are sad and lonely. It is a reality.
But I remember something too that my mother always told me: we can make a choice to be happy and content wherever we are, and with what we have.

Due to changes in my life and a family illness, I was contemplating a Christmas Eve (and possibly Christmas morning!) with just myself and my beloved friend, my dog, Stu. I write this just a few days before Christmas and it looks like we will indeed get together with family (but Stu and I might still drink hot cider and listening to carols Christmas Eve!).

We all obviously have stuff going on, uncertainties and certainly things we wish had gone differently. But we must—we must—count our blessings.

I just built a house on a sliver of my grandparents’ old farm, up against 40 acres of woods. The pond below me is the one I fished with my cousin growing up. I hauled hay in the pasture exactly where my house sits overlooking the hills and valleys. My kids are all healthy and good. Dear friends are good.

“Alone,” I have very much looked forward to decorating for Christmas and so I did. Vintage lights on the tree, music, candles. Each night as I lay down to sleep, I recite my blessings and am grateful.

A poor example, maybe, but a line from the Doors’ song, “Five to One” goes “No one here gets out alive.” Some of you are touched by death this season. Perhaps a loved one died at the holiday season years before and you can’t get past it. Maybe it has just happened. My mother’s husband succumbed to cancer yesterday, but look at the blessings: he lived far longer than anyone might have thought and had a wonderful final two decades. He told her over the weekend, “I’m going to see my Lord and Savior!”

We do not mourn as the heathen mourn. And especially at this time of the year, we are not living well if we do not give thanks for all we have. Most especially that the Child was born, and His Father protected Him until His appointed hour.

So that we might live.

Some of you will read this Christmas Eve, late, or even Christmas morning. It is my hope and prayer that you have an especially joyous day, and that you reflect on what you have and on what God has graciously given you and all of us.

Merry Christmas!

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

Not Pro Israel

 A new survey by LifeWay Research (an arm of the Southern Baptist Convention) shows that support for Israel is slipping among Millennials.

No kidding.

Yet there are fascinating layers to this story, not generally known to the public. Speaking of topics like this, a Facebook friend this week posted that people in the pews have no idea what’s going on. They are not told by their pastors, by and large, and they are too busy raising families to be aware of any kind of research.

The change agents responsible for these cultural shifts advance their agendas for a living. For example, the writer Jonathan Merritt posts articles and opinion pieces weekly that advance a left-wing agenda. His father happens to be Dr. James Merritt, a former president of the SBC. Whether it’s softening views of homosexuality, or supporting DACA, or undermining Israel, Merritt the Younger is paid to do these things. Yet, for example, the people in evangelical pews are plumbers, lawyers, assembly line workers, florists, etc. They do their jobs, then go home to cook dinner for the kids. They don’t have time to know what’s really going on in the evangelical world.

On Sundays, many of them attend a church that hosts Beth Moore Bible studies, Purpose Driven sermons, and whatever other evangelical celebrity “Bible teacher” they can find. In general, there is not nearly as much actual Bible study being done as in past generations.

This is primarily why Christian Millennials are moving away from Israel, and to the Palestinians. They buy-into the left wing narrative that the Palestinians are being brutalized by the Israelis. Scores of evangelical and mainline denominational leaders advance this agenda.

Some are more subtle.

From a Ha’aretz article this week:

 “The survey highlights how younger evangelicals, while still overall supportive of Israel, have more nuanced views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. policy toward it.

“For example, while 76 percent of evangelicals over the age of 65 have a ‘positive’ view of Israel, among evangelicals under the age of 35, the number was only 58 percent. That’s still a clear majority, but almost a fifth less than among the older population. At the same time, 66 percent of evangelicals under 35 believe that ‘Christians should do more to love and care for the Palestinian people,’ while only 54 percent of those over 65 share this view.

“In addition, while more than half of evangelicals over the age of 65 disagree with the statement: ‘The Palestinian people have a historic right to the Land of Israel,’ the number drops to 41 percent among those under 35.”

It is this last point I want to discuss this week.

Young people in our churches are not taught the biblical statements about God’s covenants with Israel. They have no idea.

This week, Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines (pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis) tweeted about the controversy over President Trump acknowledging Jerusalem as Israel’s capital:

“Some are upset that Jerusalem has been acknowledged as the capitol of Israel.”

Gaines then went on to say that one day, the Holy City will be the capital for the entire world, when Jesus returns, etc.

Gaines’ friend, seminary president Danny Akin, retweeted Gaines’ comment.

I thought it was interesting that Gaines did not take the opportunity to affirm Israel’s right to Jerusalem as its capital. Instead, he took the safe view, looking ahead into the future for Jerusalem’s status. I doubt Akin would have retweeted the statement had Gaines, for example, unequivocally supported Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem.

Several top SBC pastors and ministry leaders make positive statements about Israel, and some lead tour groups “to the Holy Land.” Some are genuinely pro Israel; I’m not sure if Gaines is or not. His friendship with people like Akin, who apparently supports the “Dreamers” who are undermining the integrity of our country, indicates to me that he might be politically savvy enough to know that a pro Israel statement here and there is good for business. It keeps people in the pews thinking that Israel is as important to him as it is to them.

I don’t see very many SBC national leaders who are unabashedly, biblically supportive of Israel. The same is true with other evangelical denominations and associations.

The fact is, more and more evangelical leaders are softening their support of Israel.

In fairness, in 2016, Gaines tweeted the following:

“I strongly disagree with President Obama & John Kerry in the way they’ve come against America’s ally – Israel.”

This was in the waning days of the Alinsky disciple’s presidency. One wishes evangelical leaders had been courageous in, say, 2010 about Obama’s radicalism.

Another layer to this story is that Bob Smietana posted an article this past week at Christianity Today about waning Millennial support for Israel. Here’s why this is important: evangelicals in the pews today would read that article and not think about the writer of the article. They would simply absorb whatever was written.

Yet if you know anything about journalism in this country, you know that bias is the basic element. So who is Bob Smietana?

In 2010, Smietana wrote a series for The Tennessean, “The Price of Fear,” in which he took to task Islamic terrorism researchers like Steven Emerson. According to an article by Rebecca Bynum, Smietana:

“Alleged that those working against the unrestricted Islamization of the Western world are doing it for the money.”

Bynum was also astute enough to point out that the “anti-anti-jihad” agendas of people like Smietana are identical to those of the “anti-anti-communists” from 50 years ago. Do you get it? Left wing elements are rooted in our culture, especially in religious communities.

Smietana also writes for The Christian Century, and Sojourners; both are left wing. I maintain that CT itself is a Trojan Horse within evangelicalism. The magazine started by Billy Graham 60 years ago is now decidedly “progressive” in its agenda. I doubt many know that. Think of it like this: for years, Americans listened to the venerable Walter Cronkite every night, not realizing he was often advancing a left-leaning agenda.

The same today with “evangelical media.”

Smietana no doubt exults in any kind of Millennial support for the Palestinians. It fits his own worldview. As he wrote in the CT article:

“Evangelical believers are uncertain how to resolve differences between Israelis and Palestinians. A quarter (23%) say Israel should sign a treaty allowing Palestinians to have a sovereign state in the West Bank and Gaza. Thirty-one percent disagree. Forty-six percent are unsure.”

Is this true? If it is, it would indicate that only one-third believes the land is Israel’s!

I believe what we are seeing is a two-fold problem: too many pastors are not teaching their people the biblical reality of Israel and Jews. Secondly, change-agents operating openly within evangelicalism are advancing a narrative that is indifferent to Israel, at best.

I will be attempting to ask certain leaders like Steve Gaines exactly what they believe about Israel. Wish me luck!

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com